The latest from the National desk

Lowe's pulling of ads on Muslim TV show sparks protest

December 17, 2011 | 4:01
pm

Protesters gathered at a Lowe’s store in a Detroit suburb Saturday, calling for a boycott of the home improvement chain after it pulled advertisements from a reality television show about Muslim families living in Michigan.

About 100 people protested outside a Lowe’s store in the Detroit suburb of Allen Park, the Detroit News reported.

The show, called “All-American Muslim” is filmed in nearby Dearborn, one of largest Muslim American communities in the United States.

The North Carolina company decided to stop advertising on the show, which airs on Discovery Communications Inc.'s TLC channel, after complaints by the Florida Family Assn., a conservative Christian group that lobbies companies to promote "traditional, biblical values."

The program follows the day-to-day lives of five Muslim American families. Cast members talk about how their faith affects their actions and choices.

After the Lowe's action got national media attention, Lowe's spokeswoman Karen Cobb said the company had a "long-standing commitment" to diversity and pulled the ads only after the show became "a lightning rod" for people to voice complaints from a variety of perspectives.

Dozens of demonstrators, both Christians and Muslims, carried signs that read "Boycott Bigotry" and "Lowes Remember All-American Muslims Shop Too." Some held American flags.

"We are going to come back out here again, form our coalition and we are going to boycott Lowe's until they make things right," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.